BackBased of notes #2
Terms in this set (29)
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes, aiming to understand individuals and groups by establishing general principles and researching specific cases.
Describe behavior, Explain why it occurs, Predict when it will happen, and Control or modify behavior to improve outcomes or prevent negatives.
Includes psychobabble, reliance on anecdotal evidence, extraordinary claims without evidence, lack of connectivity to research, no self-correction, and absence of peer review.
Formulate a research question, develop a hypothesis, design and conduct an experiment, analyze data, and draw conclusions.
Independent Variable (IV): manipulated factor; Dependent Variable (DV): measured outcome in a study.
Case study (in-depth single subject), experimental research (manipulates variables), and correlational research (examines relationships without manipulation).
Neuron transmits information; parts include dendrites (receive signals), cell body (maintains health), axon (sends impulses), and axon terminals (release neurotransmitters).
Graded potential is proportional change in electrical charge; action potential is a rapid, all-or-nothing electrical impulse down the axon.
Natural selection favors traits enhancing survival and reproduction; adaptation refers to traits improving an organism's survival chances.
UCS triggers UCR naturally; NS becomes CS after association; CS elicits CR; extinction weakens CR; generalization and discrimination affect responses.
Positive reinforcement adds stimulus to increase behavior; negative reinforcement removes stimulus to increase behavior; positive punishment adds stimulus to decrease behavior; negative punishment removes stimulus to decrease behavior.
Transience, absent-mindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and persistence describe common memory failures.
Counselling psychology helps with everyday challenges and healthy growth; clinical psychology diagnoses and treats mental illnesses.
Focuses on perception as organized wholes; 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.'
Structuralism analyzes basic elements of thought via introspection; criticized for subjectivity and lack of generalizability.
Studies observable behavior shaped by stimuli and reinforcement; key figures include Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner.
Focuses on the purpose of mental processes; William James emphasized adaptive functions influenced by Darwin.
Includes hypothesis (testable prediction), operational definitions (measurement criteria), theory (explanatory framework), observation, IV, and DV.
Control group does not receive treatment; experimental group does. Comparison isolates the effect of the independent variable.
Between-subjects (different groups), within-subjects (same group multiple times), factorial (multiple variables), quasi-experimental (no random assignment).
Misinformation: false info without intent to deceive; disinformation: false info with intent to deceive; malinformation: true info shared to cause harm.
Concepts are mental groupings of similar objects, events, or ideas that help organize information and facilitate thinking.
A prototype is the best or most typical example of a concept used for categorization.
The general intelligence factor underlying all cognitive abilities, explaining why performance in different areas correlates.
Confirmation bias is seeking info that confirms beliefs; satire uses humor or irony to criticize or mock.
Availability: judging by ease of recall; representative: judging by similarity to prototype; anchoring: relying on initial info.
Observed rise in average IQ scores over time, influenced by education, nutrition, technology, and social changes.
Focuses on unconscious motives and early childhood; founded by Freud; psychoanalysis aims to gain insight into unconscious; limited by lack of empirical evidence.
Pavlov: classical conditioning with dogs; Watson: classical conditioning in humans (Little Albert); Skinner: operant conditioning with reinforcement and punishment.